New Delhi: The government is planning an exit exam for MBBS students passing out of government as well as private medical colleges to address concerns over the standard of medical colleges and the quality of doctors being produced in the country.

The move is part of wide-ranging reforms in the medical sector being considered by a high-powered committee headed by Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya. The PM's additional principal secretary P K Mishra and Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant are the other members.

The panel is also set to recommend scrapping of Medical Council of India (MCI) and replacing it with a National Medical Commission (NMC) which will have four independent boards to oversee under-graduate and post-graduate education, accreditation and rating of colleges, medical register and ethics.

"The main objective is to end inspector raj in the medical education sector," said an official.

He added that NEET, brought to end multiplicity of exams and to usher in a free and fair process in medical admissions, along with exit exam and setting up of new regulator would help make the system more assessment-based and would focus on outcomes.

As reported by TOI on June 24, the commission and the four boards will have eminent doctors and experts who will be selected by a high-powered search-cum-selection committee unlike the existing MCI, where the members are elected.

The election process has become a stumbling block as eminent doctors who could not win elections did not get a chance to participate in the working of MCI.

An official said the proposed NMC will be empowered to regulate medical education in the country so as to ensure that the quality was at par with global standards.

The NMC will have around 19-20 members and their tenure will be about five years. It will also have members from other fields such as economics, law and management in a bid to inculcate professionalism in the body.

The official said the four boards will be given autonomy and they will work on the respective field for which they are formed.

There will also be a Medical Advisory Council (MAC), with members from states like an eminent professional such as a professor from a medical college. NMC members will also be its members and its role will be advisory.

The government is trying to place the bill for setting up NMC as soon as possible hoping that Parliament's approval will be easier because a parliamentary committee had strongly recommended revamping of the MCI, saying it had failed in its role as a regulator which had led to the downfall of India's medical education system.

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